William L. Steele

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William L. Steele, Purcell & Elmslie, Associated Architects, Woodbury County Courthouse (1916)

William LaBarthe Steele (May 2, 1875 – March 4, 1949) was an American architect. He is considered a principal member of the Prairie School Architectural Movement during the early 20th century.

Personal Life and Family[]

William LaBarthe Steele was born in Springfield, Illinois, on May 2, 1875, to parents Mary deLaBarthe and Robert Steele.[4][6][7] He married his wife Maryana (elsewhere Mariana) Green in 1901, and the couple had at least 8 children: Marianna, Harriet, Sarah, William Jr., Jane, Sally, and Phillip. A highly esteemed architect in his time, Steele worked as an architect in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Iowa before taking up work in Omaha by 1930. He was the instigator of a longstanding lineage of Omaha firms and was soon joined by his son in his practice. A year after his wife's death, Steele passed away on March 4, 1949, in Neillsville, Wisconsin, and was then buried in Sioux City, Iowa. [5][6][7]

Career[]

After graduating from the University of Illinois, Steele worked under renowned architect Louis Sullivan in Chicago, Illinois from 1897 to 1900. He later moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to work at several other firms.

In 1904, he settled in Sioux City, Iowa, where he stayed for 25 years until moving to Omaha, Nebraska in 1929. Around this time, he and Thomas Rogers Kimball founded an architectural firm that eventually became Steele, Sandham, and Steele.[1] Throughout his career, he designed over 250 commercial buildings, churches, synagogues, homes, schools, and government buildings in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

The Woodbury County Courthouse in Sioux City is considered as a premier example of Prairie School aesthetics, which he designed along with Minneapolis-based architects George Grant Elmslie and William Gray Purcell.[2] All three men had previously worked, in various roles, for Louis Sullivan. The Courthouse, along with Walthill Hospital in Nebraska (1912), are both designated National Historic Landmarks. Over 20 of his surviving works are on the National Register of Historic Places (NrHP).

Steele was also one of the founding members of The Nebraska State Board of Examiners for Professional Engineers and Architects (now known as the Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects). He served on the Board from 1937 to 1942.[3]

Selected Works[]

Related Articles[]

Other[]

Architect Knute E. Westerlind, a protege of Steele's, designed the PWA Moderne Sioux City Municipal Auditorium in 1938.

References[]

  1. ^ "Steele, Sandham And Steele
  2. ^ "Woodbury County Courthouse Approaches its Centennial". National Park Service. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  3. ^ "William LaBarthe Steele (1875-1949), Architect". e-nebraskahistory.org. Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 26 June 2021.

[1] 

[2]

[3] [4]

  1. ^ 4. AIA Historical Directory of American Architects: A Resource Guide to Finding Information About Past Architects. http://communities.aia.org/sites/hdoaa/wiki/Wiki%20Pages/ahd1042846.aspx [accessed 20100803]
  2. ^ 5, “Vital Statistics and Professional Record of William L. Steele, Architect, Omaha, Nebraska, August 1937.” Attachment to Application for Registration.[5]. The buildings listed are under a sub-heading, “Typical Buildings Designed and Supervised by W. L. Steele.”
  3. ^ 6. Census Year: 1930; Census Place: Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska; Roll: 1278; Page: 31B; Enumeration District: 0116; Image: 282.0; FHL microfilm: 2341013 Accessed on Ancestry.com
  4. ^ 7. Census Year: 1880; Census Place: Springfield, Sangamon, Illinois; Roll: 249; Family History Film: 1254249; Page: 238D; Enumeration District: 229; Image: 0766 Accessed on Ancestry.com
Retrieved from ""